Vacation Rentals by Owner

Best vacation I've ever had!! Beautiful very inviting home!!

Guest: Derek and Angel Register (Gastonia, NC)
Date of Stay: 04/27/12 Review Submitted: 05/08/12

We rented this home from Fred for my husbands 30th birthday. We had a big cookout on Saturday and the place was perfect for this kind of family event. I can say this house was absolutely perfect. From the top of the line appliances in the kitchen to the cozy gazebo in the backyard overlooking the lake every little detail of this property was awesome!! We fished off the dock and even brought our boat with us. Fred thank you so much for opening up your wonderful home to my family and making my husbands birthday one to remember!! We cannot wait to plan our next vacation to your home....thanks again!!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.

Wonderful Weekend

Guest: David Z. (Wilmington, North Carolina)
Date of Stay: 03/29/12 Review Submitted: 04/13/12

We had a wonderful long weekend at your beautiful lake house. The children loved the game room and the large yard to play ball. The open kitchen design was nice for family meals. The hot tub was another hit for the adults. We hope to return next year for our annual family weekend at the lake. Even though the owner was traveling out of the country during our stay, he provided excellent communication and made our arrangements very accommodating.

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XMAS/NEW YEARS on the Lake

Guest: Angela (Silver Lake, Ohio)
Date of Stay: 12/26/11 Review Submitted: 01/04/12

We used the lake house as a place for my family to get together for the holidays. The house was wonderful! Nicely furnished, kitchen stocked with everything we needed. Very peaceful setting indoors and out. Great game room with fireplace. Would absolutely rent again!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, sightseeing.

BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

Guest: Rachel Z.
Date of Stay: 12/16/11 Review Submitted: 01/08/12

Since moving to a townhouse I’ve missed having the children come home for holidays because we don’t have enough space. Renting this house for the holidays was the perfect solution for our family. Not only is it a perfect house and property but the owner treated us as his personal guests. He made several trips to the house prior to our arrival to make sure the house was decorated for Christmas inside and out and that the dining room table was setup for twelve. The kitchen had every appliance and utensil I needed. The bedrooms were large enough for each family to have their own space. My daughter and her family of five even had enough room for the Pack n Play (baby bed), a toddler and a single air mattress in addition to the queen bed provided. This was a perfect experience and the best Christmas ever.

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Great Lake House

Guest: Mike (Charlotte)
Date of Stay: 08/18/11 Review Submitted: 08/28/11

Spent a nice long weekend at this very nice lake home and enjoyed every minute of it. There are numerous games and activities to entertain both kids and adults. The location is perfect. Its close to shopping and supermarkets. Also if your interested in renting a boat or jet skis theres a location right down the road. I highly recommend this house to anyone looking to a vacation rental on lake norman.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

VICKERS VACATION

Guest: Gina V. (Huntington, West Virginia)
Date of Stay: 07/16/11 Review Submitted: 08/05/11

Fred, Thank you for the generousity of opening your home & placing Fresh Flowers/Bottle of Champagne very nice!!! The home was wonderful as well, room for the extended families that was with us, games and living space in the bsmt. was great for the younger group to hang out. My husband thoroughly enjoyed having the boat ramp on the property for the convenience of loading/unloading our boat. You did a great job on your accomidation upgrades through-out the home. We had a wonderful relaxing week which is just what we all needed we ate out more w/the grill unusable but we didnt complain as we enjoyed the local resturants: Big Daddy's; Lone Star Steak House; Red Robin's (We had a Bday Girl this Week); and on Pinnical Dr on the water was a cpl nice places to eat.; We took the boys to "The Pitt" -Indoor Racing Go Carts and Lots of Shopping for the Ladies. We'll be back. Happy Boating, The Vickers, WV

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

Fantastic Weekend!

Guest: Jim (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Date of Stay: 05/27/11 Review Submitted: 06/17/11

Beautiful home, large back yard, great dock, friendly neighbors and a great area to enjoy boating on the lake. There is a boat ramp on the property which I would recommend using if possible. The nearest boat ramp is about 7 miles away by water (though only a couple of miles by car). There is a great cove for skiing and wake boarding not far from the house. Lots of activities for families on the property. We enjoyed pool, ping pong, darts, hot tub, badminton, volleyball and swimming off the dock (as well as hours of skiing, wake boarding and tubing). The owner was easy to deal with and very responsive to my questions. We would definitely recommend this home!

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children.

Perfect House for the Holidays!!

Guest: Lake Loving Family (Northern Virginia)
Date of Stay: 11/20/10 Review Submitted: 12/10/10

I can't say enough about this wonderful house and its owner. My family rented the house for a week over Thanksgiving just this year (2010). The house is the perfect spot for family get togethers, no matter the season. We had so much to do while we were there - fishing & feeding ducks at the dock, volleyball and badminton on the large, flat back yard, pool and ping pong tournaments in the basement at night, I could go on and on. The owner was so accommodating - he even purchased extra corning ware and brought it to the house because he wanted to be sure we had enough to prepare Thanksgiving dinner (we had plenty for our family of 9!!) He also left firewood, wine, fresh flowers in several rooms and there were magazines and books set out everywhere. He had even decorated the entire house for Thanksgiving – he really went above and beyond!! Plus the place was immaculately clean. The pics of this property don't even do it justice - all the bathrooms and the kitchen are top notch with granite and tile and upgrades everywhere. There are TVs in every bedroom. The separate living area downstairs made it so easy for us to relax and hang out after the kids went to bed at night. Aside from the pool/ping pong table downstairs, there is a tv room, card table, fireplace, office area, full bath & bedroom, ice maker, wine fridge, large laundry room and access to the porch and back yard. The house is conveniently located close to town where there is a Harris Teeter grocery store (with a Starbucks inside - the owner even left us his HT club shopping card) and plenty of stores (we did our share of black Friday shopping) & restaurants (we highly recommend the short drive to the Prickly Pear in Mooresville, NC). We look forward to returning to this lovely house with our boat this summer!!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Amazing!

Guest: Pat (Charlotte, NC)
Date of Stay: 08/27/10 Review Submitted: 09/03/10

My wife and I live in Charlotte and wanted to rent a house on the lake as a place to gather our parents for a long weekend. Simply put: this house was perfect. It had everything we wanted and more (like the fresh flowers and bottle of wine left for us by the owner). With 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, we never felt crowded. The kitchen and open living/dining room made dinner time convenient and relaxed. We had a blast playing pool and darts in the awesome game room downstairs. The spacious lawn was great for playing games (volleyball and badminton provided), and the dock made it easy for a friend to bring their pontoon boat over. Oh, and the jacuzzi was a nice touch too... We're already talking about making it back next year. The owner was a pleasure to work with; accomodating in every way. Thanks so much!

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Another Memorable Trip

Guest: We're All Good (Palestine, IL)
Date of Stay: 07/26/10 Review Submitted: 08/12/10

This was our second time renting this property. It would have been our third, but someone beat us to it last year! It's a wonderful house with a great air conditioning system, plenty of hot water for all, and an ice maker that filled our cooler without fail every day of boating. There are many added extras not found in most other rentals. We love the convenient boat ramp on the property and the U-shaped dock is a big plus. The owner has always been very accommodating and has taken care of our needs above and beyond the call of duty.

Recommended for:Adventure seekers, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.

We love Lake Norman

Guest: Joyce (Hartville, OH )
Date of Stay: 07/19/10 Review Submitted: 08/09/10

This rental property exceeded our expectations in every way. The home was immaculate and the grounds were well kept. We stayed during a very hot summer week and to say we were pleased with the air conditioning in the house is an understatement. We enjoyed the peaceful setting, the lake and the nightlife as well. We met a lot of nice people and had a wonderful time. We hope to return next year. Our group highly recommends this property. You won't be disappointed.

Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.

Our stay in NC

Guest: OH family (Mendon, OH)
Date of Stay: 07/14/10 Review Submitted: 08/02/10

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at your house while we were in NC for our daughter's wedding The gazebo got a lot of use on the warm days as well as the game room downstairs. The kitchen was great. It worked out well for our extended family and as a meeting place for our daughter's new in-laws. We would like to go back again and check out other points of interest in the area.

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4th of July week

Guest: Deanna,Brian,Nancy,Lenny,Nancy,Scott and 5 boys :) (New york)
Date of Stay: 07/03/10 Review Submitted: 08/02/10

Wow is a great word to describe this house. This is the 2nd year that myself and 2 other families have stayed here and it was perfect again. It is very clean and everything is well kept and organized. The owner was very attentive to our needs and also added little touches to make us feel very welcome. We will be going back next year and hopefully many years to come. If you are looking for a great family get away this it ! Thank you again for the fond memories and wonderful experience. See you next year:)

Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children.

Great vacation gone bad

Guest: Toryndakiema (Columbia, SC)
Date of Stay: 04/04/10 Review Submitted: 05/21/10

My experience was disapointing. We checked in late that afternoon and no one did a inspection prior to our arrival. We were charged for something that we did not do. We are a family who travels 5 times a year and have never had a deposit held. Be careful and take many pictures of everything as well as have him sign off on a walk through prior to unpacking. We rented the pontoon boat that did not go in reverse and when we brought that to the owners attention he admitted not checking the gears but wasnt sure why it didn't work as it did for the previous rentors. We loved Lake Norman and are visiting again in June 2010 as well as we have recently signed a contract on a home there.

Owner response:The issue is my withholding from their security deposit funds equal to the cost of replacement of the felt covering on the top of the billiard table. I did a cursory review of the house shortly after their arrival and found no problems. In addition, my trusted cleaning crew would have pointed out any problems created by the prior renters. As I was doing a couple of projects in the house while most of the rental party was enjoying the gazebo, I observed their two young sons struggling with placement of the ping pong table surface on top of the pool table, and I stepped in to help them. (Later, the parents who were out at the gazebo at that time asserted that they supervised their boys 100% of the time.) At that time I carefully looked to see if they had already damaged the felt from banging around the large ping pong table board on it, and they had not. So, there was an explicitly clear "no damage" status at the outset. However, at the end of the week, there were three significant tears in the felt table top--most likely caused by insufficient care in placing the ping pong table top on the billiard table. I now have a sign on the ping pong table top recommending adult supervision of small ping pong players to help them with the awkward process of placing the top on the billiard table. The pontoon boat had functioned fine for the renters who checked out on the same day that the new renters checked in. While they chose to discontinue use of the pontoon boat because they couldn't get it in reverse, I refunded 100% of the pontoon boat rental that they had prepaid. I absorbed the cost of the gas & oil usage for their foreshortened rental, and I absorbed the cost of the repair to the gear shift mechanism without trying to ascribe blame for the problem. If the renters had called me to report the issue, I might have been able to get it repaired quickly. Alternatively, pontoon boat rentals were available at a nearby marina. In three years of dozens of rentals at this house, I think my cumulative withholding of security deposits other than this rental has been perhaps $20.00. I have had numerous renters return for a second or third rental, and comments in my guest book have been almost universally glowingly positive feedback regarding their respective stays. And almost all of my other renters have conscientiously not left recreational gear scattered around the property upon departure, as I experienced with this rental party.

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Guest: Eric & Kim
Date of Stay: 12/24/09 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

Had another fun "family Christmas" at your beautiful home. Thanks you for having us again.

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Guest: Harold & Kristen
Date of Stay: 11/25/09 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

Our first vacation to Lake Norman was extremely enjoyable! Our family Thanksgiving brought many memorable moments that will be etched in our minds for many years to come. Thank you so much for your hospitality and special touches that make your home so cozy & welcoming. My kids think this is our other house now & had such a good time they want to stay and play some more croquet and football in your beautiful yard. We look forward to coming back again! BTW, we absolutely loved the decorations, flowers & wine!!

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Guest: Kim & Thomas
Date of Stay: 08/09/09 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

What a perfect vacation getaway! The entire house totally exceeded our expectations. The game room downstairs was the perfect set up for everyone. Loved the private boat ramp. The convenience of the ramp and the boat lift was awesome. This has truly been the best vacation we have ever taken together. Don't want to leave, and will definitely be back! P.S. The fresh flowers and wine were first class. Thanks again!

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Guest: Jim & Marcia
Date of Stay: 05/23/09 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

Wonderful place for our extended family to meet and enjoy our vacation. The house was perfect for those rainy days (which we did have many of). We were kept entertained by the numerous activities and great attention to detail. We will be back again.

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Guest: Candy & Pete
Date of Stay: 08/17/08 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

What a wonderful place for a family reunion! Everything is top notch and excellent quality! The hot tub provided a romantic atmosphere. The "girls" enjoyed quiet evenings in the gazebo sipping wine & relaxing. We all enjoyed fishing from the dock. The grandsons caught numerous catfish & sun fish on their "Batman" and "Spiderwomen" fishing rods. Fishing in Lake Norman was incredible! Thanks for a wonderful week!

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Guest: Karen
Date of Stay: 07/26/08 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

Memories are made in places like this! We greatly enjoyed all of the special touches--everything was great. This was our sixth year of vacationing on Lake Norman & your house made this one by far the best! We'll be back next year!

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Guest: Kori
Date of Stay: 07/13/08 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

The house is perfect and we realy enjoyed all the games & small touches. The lake, the backyard, the boat, the deck--all perfect to enjoy a wonderful weekend. Do we have to go home?!

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Guest: Bob & Nancy
Date of Stay: 06/18/08 Review Submitted: 03/30/10

Had a great time. There is so much to do at the house & is so comfortable nobody wanted to leave to do anything. Wonderful place for a great family get together.

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